- Don Lichterman
TeachKind's 2020 Teacher Appreciation Contest
Stephanie McLaughlin, our 2019 winner, talks about teaching compassion for animals in her classroom and encourages all compassionate teachers to enter the 2020 contest.
Trump’s Reelection Playbook: Racist Tropes & Downplaying COVID Pandemic by Slowing Down Testing
“You just see this tremendous impulse to divide,” says Emily Bazelon, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. “This is what has worked for Trump in the past. He is not going to change now.”
Make America White Again: Eddie Glaude on Trump and What James Baldwin Still Has to Teach Us
Amid a nationwide reckoning with systemic racism, we speak with Princeton African American studies professor Eddie Glaude, whose new book on James Baldwin offers lessons from the iconic writer for the present. Baldwin, says Glaude, insisted that “we put aside the myths and illusions and understand what white supremacy has done in terms of disfiguring and distorting the character of this nation.” The book is titled “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.”
VIRTUAL 360 Everest Trek Part 05 The Khumbu Climbing Center
Join our virtual trek to the south side of Mount Everest and the top of Kala Patthar, in immersive 360 VR video, with this limited series from Jon Miller and The Rest of Everest! In Part 04 we get a private tour of the new Khumbu Climbing Center building in Phortse, Nepal.
View the playlist of this VR trek! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
The Khumbu Climbing Center, or KCC, was founded in 2003 with a mission “to increase the safety margin of Nepali climbers and high altitude workers by encouraging responsible climbing practices in a supportive and community-based program.” We had been looking forward to visiting the KCC and to see the new building that had officially opened in June 2019. We were absolutely amazed by this outstanding facility and grass-roots community resource.
When we walked over to the KCC from the Phortse Guest House we were pleased to meet up with our new friend Phil Henderson who had arrived at the same time as us. Phil is a long time volunteer at the school and we had met him a few days earlier at the Panorama Lodge in Namche. He immediately introduced us to the KCC's Facility Manager Danuru Sherpa. These two men were a wealth of information about the new building and the school in general. They treated us to a lengthy tour of the Center with its indoor and outdoor climbing walls, medical clinic, mountaineering and children's libraries, meeting space, and fully-stocked gear room. All housed within a state-of-the-art building that is also earthquake-proof.
This visit was certainly one of the highlights of our Fall 2019 trip!
The School is a project of the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation. For more information on the KCC (and if you'd like to make a donation) please visit https://www.alexlowe.org
Jon Miller - July 27, 2020:
While you can absolutely enjoy this series on a mobile phone or computer, for the most “you are there” immersive experience I HIGHLY recommend viewing the videos using a VR headset. Here are some suggestions that I own and have personally tested. They range in price from just a few bucks to a few hundred dollars. Buying them from these links will support this The Rest of Everest endeavor!
I Am Cardboard VR Box https://amzn.to/3d3CSu6
This is a fantastic entry-level VR viewer that can be used with the YouTube app on your mobile phone. I found this one to be superior to the less expensive versions that need to be assembled. This one comes ready to use and has a more thoughtful design and better user experience. Worth buying even if you only have a passing interest in VR content.
Pansonite 3D VR Glasses Virtual Reality Headset https://amzn.to/37s06ZJ
A real upgrade from Google Cardboard devices. This is a true headset and is very comfortable to use. Since you actually wear it, the experience is much more immersive yet still uses the YouTube app on your mobile phone for viewing which keeps it inexpensive. It is also far more adjustable than the Cardboard options. I’ve given a Pansonite unit to Dawa’s family for viewing these episodes!
Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB https://amzn.to/2MVhz3a
Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 64GB https://amzn.to/2Ba0z6u
This entry-level Oculus is a true VR headset and is completely standalone with no phone needed. It has everything you need to view all kinds of VR content and even play VR games. It is a lot of fun!
Oculus Quest All-in-one VR Gaming Headset – 64GB https://amzn.to/2YE3oF2
Oculus Quest All-in-one VR Gaming Headset – 128GB https://amzn.to/3fnOKbN
The Oculus Quest is the best all-in-one VR headset on the market right now. Using it is like peering into the future. For viewing 360 videos it only beats the Oculus Go in terms of screen quality but if you’re interested in gaming THIS is the headset to purchase. There is NO comparison. I use an Oculus Quest connected to Adobe Premiere while I edit these episodes. Amazing device with a lot of “wow” factor.
Thanks for watching. If you’re new to The Rest of Everest, please consider checking out Episode 000 to see what this series is about and how it all started almost 20 years ago. https://youtu.be/ESyjYeCxxgc
If you’re based in Colorado, consider checking out Dawa’s Fort Collins restaurant, The Himalayan Bistro https://himalayanbistro.com
A Vaccine by November? Science Journalist in Vaccine Trial Casts Doubt on Rosy U.S. Projections
With 30,000 people taking part in the first major COVID-19 vaccine study in the United States, hopes are high that the collaboration between drugmaker Moderna and the National Institutes of Health will yield positive results as early as November. Researchers around the world are working on more than 165 vaccine candidates, though only a handful are conducting large-scale human trials. We speak with BBC science journalist Richard Fisher, who took part in the vaccine trial run by Oxford University that is among the most promising. "It was both a personal decision and a journalistic one," Fisher says of his decision to volunteer. "I wanted to do something that helps the collective effort to get us closer to a vaccine."
Who Profits & Where Is the Transparency in Trump Admin's $6 Billion Vaccine Program?
As researchers around the world race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, we speak with Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines Program, about who is profiting from government efforts to fund vaccines, testing and treatment. The Trump administration has announced major contracts with pharmaceutical companies as part of its $6 billion program, Operation Warp Speed, including with firms that have never brought a vaccine to market. Meanwhile, a New York Times investigation shows corporate insiders from at least 11 companies working on coronavirus research have sold shares worth more than $1 billion since March. "The problem is that the companies, the executives, the hedge funds are feeding on people's hope and desperation, and it only takes a little bit of positive news to send stocks soaring," says Maybarduk. Public Citizen recently released a database that tracks the billions of taxpayer dollars supporting COVID-19 research.
Chomsky on Cuba’s “Internationalist” Response to Pandemic & Need to Make Vaccine Globally Accessible
As the world races to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, Noam Chomsky says any successful treatment must be accessible to everyone, and he warns that President Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization will hamper the international body’s efforts to distribute medicine in countries racked by poverty and war. “There’s at least one country in the world that is showing genuine internationalism, providing medical aid and support for people that need it,” Chomsky says, and that is Cuba.
Noam Chomsky: Decades of "the Neoliberal Plague" Left U.S. Unprepared for COVID-19 Outbreak
As the U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 150,000, we spend the hour with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky, who says decades of neoliberal policies that shredded the social safety net and public institutions left the country ill-prepared for a major health crisis. "We should understand the roots of this pandemic," he says.
Sunset TV on Roku!
